Temperature independence of molecular transport in live cell membranes

Determine whether molecular transport on live cell plasma membranes is temperature independent or temperature dependent, reconciling conflicting experimental observations across comparable fluorescence correlation spectroscopy measurements and length scales.

Background

The introduction contrasts reports of temperature-independent diffusion of GPI-anchored proteins in live cells with several studies showing temperature-dependent diffusion using similar fluorescence correlation spectroscopy methods. The authors note that observed temperature independence depends on the scale of observation, suggesting nanoscale processes such as actin–membrane interactions may be involved.

This motivates a clear, experimental and theoretical determination of whether transport on live cell membranes is fundamentally temperature independent or not, and under what conditions.